Overview

Brief Summary

Aedes is a genus of small mosquitoes that usually have black and white stripes on their bodies and legs. First described and named by Meigen in 1818, the name comes from the Ancient Greek aēdēs, meaning "unpleasant" or "odious". The genus Aedes is undergoing taxonomic reorganization according to recent morphological analyses by Reinert et al. Because the species involved in these reorganizations are of medical and public health importance, associated name changes have been ignored by most scientists; at least one scientific journal, the Journal of Medical Entomology, has officially encouraged authors dealing with aedine mosquitoes to continue to use the traditional names, unless they have particular reasons for doing so. In the old classification (used here), the genus Aedes includes about 900 species.

These mosquitoes were originally found only in tropical and subtropical zones, but are now found world-wide in all faunal regions, where they have been spread by humans. Some species of this genus transmit serious diseases, including dengue fever and yellow fever and other arboviruses. A few species also transmit the helminths that cause Brugian and Bancroftian filariasis. A few of the important disease vector species are:

Members of the Aedes genus are known vectors for numerous viral infections. The two most prominent species that transmit viruses are Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus which transmit the viruses that cause dengue fever, yellow fever, West Nile fever, chikungunya, and eastern equine encephalitis, along with many other, less notable diseases. Infections with these viruses are typically accompanied by a fever, and, in some cases, encephalitis, which can lead to death. A vaccine to provide protection from yellow fever exists, and measures to prevent mosquito bites include: insecticides such as DDT, mosquito traps, insect repellents, and mosquito nets.